Bourne is Reborn at the Box Office

Many considered it a huge gamble to try to continue the Bourne movie franchise without star Matt Damon. However, Universal has done pretty well with the opening of its rebooted franchise, The Bourne Legacy, starring Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner and Oscar winner Rachel Weisz. The slick action thriller (which I totally enjoyed and give an “A-” grade to by the way) took in a good $40.2 million over the weekend. It led three new releases including the Will Ferrell/Zach Galifinakis comedy The Campaign which did well coming in second with a better than expected $27 million and Hope Springs which opened to a good $15.6 million. Springs, starring Oscar winners Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones who are both absolutely brilliant in the film which I gave a “A-/B+” grade to, has taken in a total of $20 million since opening on Wednesday and should have strong legs in the month ahead as most Streep and female-centered August films do. (For examples, see the femme-centric August hits Julie & Julia, Eat Pray Love and The Help.) … Holding up well in its second weekend was the latest Wimpy Kid film and The Dark Knight Rises while Total Recall tanked in its sophomore week. For more on all the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and take a look at the new top ten below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N The Bourne Legacy Uni. $40,265,000 – 3,745 – $10,752 $40,265,000 $125 1
2 N The Campaign WB $27,440,000 – 3,205 – $8,562 $27,440,000 – 1
3 1 The Dark Knight Rises WB $19,540,000 -45.3% 3,690 -552 $5,295 $390,149,000 $250 4
4 N Hope Springs Sony $15,600,000 – 2,361 – $6,607 $20,053,000 – 1
5 3 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days Fox $8,200,000 -43.9% 3,398 +7 $2,413 $30,554,000 $22 2
6 2 Total Recall (2012) Sony $8,100,000 -68.3% 3,601 – $2,249 $44,188,000 $125 2
7 4 Ice Age: Continental Drift Fox $6,750,000 -21.6% 3,102 -440 $2,176 $144,064,000 – 5
8 7 Ted Uni. $3,290,000 -41.7% 2,208 -559 $1,490 $209,915,000 $50 7
9 6 Step Up Revolution Sum. $2,850,000 -51.9% 1,898 -708 $1,502 $30,165,000 $33 3
1o 5 The Watch Fox $2,200,000 -66.3% 2,461 -707 $894 $31,374,000 $68 3

Mary J. Blige gives you “Living Proof”

Grammy winning R&B superstar Mary J. Blige has been through it all. Drugs, booze, ups and downs with career and relationships and she always pours it out into some great music. Who can forget the brilliance of “No More Drama” for just one example? … And now, she is serving up some more dramatic music as she mines her emotions and those of the characters of the new film The Help with the first single off the soundtrack, “The Living Proof”. On this beautiful ballad, Blige sings of surviving and thriving through one’s troubles just like the ladies of the Kathryn Stockett best seller. The book and the film tell the story of a young white writer (Golden Globe nominee Emma Stone) who chronicles the lives of the black maids who she grew up with in the South during the 1960′s. Co-starring in the film are Oscar nominees Viola Davis (Doubt) and Cicely Tyson (Sounder), Oscar winner Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner’s Daughter), Emmy winner Allison Janney (The West Wing) plus Bryce Dallas Howard (Twilight Saga), Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life) and in a scene stealing performance, that like Davis’s, is getting Oscar buzz, Octavia Spencer (Ugly Betty). The much-anticipated film hits theatres in the August sweet spot (specifically Aug. 10th) that berthed the female-centric hits Eat Pray Love and Julie & Julia which as you might recall netted Meryl Streep another Oscar nod (which she should’ve won~ darn you Sandra Bullock). For more on the film, head here, and check out Mary J. Blige on what could become an Oscar and Golden Globe nominated song, “The Living Proof” from The Help.

Mary J. Blige “The Living Proof”

The Expendables defeats the Vampires, Piranhas and Jennifer Aniston!

Sly Stallone knocked out Julia Roberts last weekend. This weekend he defeated several more foes as his comeback movie The Expendables topped the box office for a second week in a row knocking down vampires, piranhas, a nanny, Bow Wow and Jennifer Aniston, oh my! In a rather lackluster frame, Sly & co. took in another $16.5 million brining their total to a strong $ $64.8 million. Performing the best of the 5 new releases was the spoof comedy Vampires Suck which landed in second with $12.2 mill. Julia Roberts’ Eat Pray Love fell to third with while Bow Wow’s Lottery Ticket opened in fourth with a ho-hum $11.1 mill. Also grabbing middling grosses were the new horrorfest Piranha 3D with $10 mill and Jennifer Aniston’s latest bomb The Switch with $8.1 mill. The final new entry was Emma Thompson’s Nanny McPhee Returns which opened to a soft $8.3 million (just ahead of The Switch), but the film has already taken in over $65 million outside of the states. So, Universal doesn’t have to worry about that one too much. For all your box office need, head to BoxOfficeMojo.com and check out the top 10 below.

TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 1 The Expendables LGF $16,500,000 -52.6% 3,270 – $5,046 $64,890,000 $80 2
2 N Vampires Suck Fox $12,200,000 – 3,233 – $3,774 $18,564,000 $20 1
3 2 Eat Pray Love Sony $12,000,000 -48.1% 3,082 – $3,894 $47,100,000 $60 2
4 N Lottery Ticket WB $11,125,000 – 1,973 – $5,639 $11,125,000 $17 1
5 3 The Other Guys Sony $10,100,000 -42.0% 3,472 -179 $2,909 $88,190,000 $100 3
6 N Piranha 3D W/Dim. $10,035,000 – 2,470 – $4,063 $10,035,000 $24 1
7 N Nanny McPhee Returns Uni. $8,310,000 – 2,784 – $2,985 $8,310,000 $35 1
8 N The Switch Mira. $8,100,000 – 2,012 – $4,026 $8,100,000 – 1
9 4 Inception WB $7,655,000 -32.2% 2,401 -719 $3,188 $261,848,000 $160 6
10 5 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Uni. $5,034,000 -52.6% 2,820 +2 $1,785 $20,730,000 $60 2

Move over Sandra, Julia Roberts is ready to reclaim her Box Office Crown

Throughout the 90′s and early 00′s, Julia Roberts was the undisputed female box office leader at the movies. With 12 of her films topping $100 million, Roberts was one of the few women who could “open” movies and remains one of the biggest stars in the world. After her Oscar win for Erin Brokovich, the hits weren’t as big with only the Oceans Eleven series topping the century mark. However, earlier this year, her ensemble comedy Valentine’s Day made $110 million and, if you ask me, she’s about to have another big hit with August’s Eat Pray Love. The film based on the best-selling novel costars Oscar winner Javier Bardem, Oscar nominees Richard Jenkins and Viola Davis and the enigmatic Golden Globe winner  James Franco as it follows Roberts character on a search for identity and meaning as she travels the globe. It will easily fill the late summer adult hit movie slot like fem-centric pics The Devil Wears Prada and last year’s Julie & Julia. The later starred renewed box office titan Meryl Streep who along with Sandra Bullock has usurped Roberts status as box office queens in Hollywood. Bullock had two gigantic films last year, The Proposal ($ 161 mill) and The Blindside ($ 255 mill) and is currently Hwood’s leading female movie star. But with Eat Pray Love, I think Julia will give her a run for the title yet again. The film has romance, comedy, drama, gorgeous locations and people and a wonderful message. It’s also directed by Glee mastermind Ryan Murphy, so that can only help. Heck, I’d say Julia might even be an Oscar contender with it. But enough from me, check out the new trailer for Eat Pray Love and let me know if you think Julia will be back on top when the film opens August 13.

Eat Pray Love